J.R. arrested in South Beach on bench warrant

J.R. arrested in South Beach on bench warrant

Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

Shooting guard J.R. Smith and the NY Knicks see their season come to an end earlier this month in Miami.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Miami Beach police say a New York Knicks player has been arrested on a bench warrant for not having a valid drivers license.

Sgt. Bobby Hernandez says 26-year-old J.R. Smith was stopped Thursday night on Washington Avenue in South Beach. A routine search revealed the bench warrant and he was arrested.

Details were not immediately available on what led police to stop Smith around 8:30 p.m.

Hernandez says Smith was taken to the Miami-Dade County jail, where officials say he bonded out early Friday.

No attorney was listed on jail records for Smith, whose legal name is Earl Joseph Smith.

Smith was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in 2004. He played in China during the NBA lockout last fall and played for the New York Knicks in 2012.